Five of their best: Anika
For our first issue we interviewed Annika Henderson, aka Anika, about her return to solo music. Now, she’s about to release her latest album Change. It’s out Friday 23 July on Sacred Bones and Invada and is only her second solo album since 2010.
Following her debut, Anika formed the band Exploded View, collaborated with Dave Clarke, Shackleton, and Tricky, and soundtracked Jil Sander’s Women’s Fall/Winter 2021 fashion show. Here’s a look at some of the best songs she’s put out along the way.
Terry
The opening track from her debut album, Anika’s version of Terry is fairly true to the 70s original by Twinkle, aka Lyn Ripley, with perhaps a slight nod to the 80s cover by Cindy & The Saffrons.
It’s a fantastic start for Anika’s debut, which was recorded in twelve days with Beak> as her backing band. At the time Beak> were made up of Geoff Barrow, Billy Fuller and Matt Williams, though after their second album Williams departed and was replaced by Will Young.
Geoff Barrow later worked with Anika again in 2016 for a cover of 99 Red Balloons, which was released as a charity single by Invada.
No One’s There
The first Anika album featured an amazing assortment of covers such as I Go To Sleep, Yang Yang, and Masters of War. But there’s also two originals, No One’s There and Officer Officer, which are both worth highlighting.
No One’s There was released as a single by Stones Throw in the US, and was accompanied by a moody black and white video from Mintonfilm.
Anika said No One’s There was written during 2008’s recession and pre-election while she was living in America. I’ve always loved the delivery of the lyrics, particularly the lines “I know how the system works / I know how the people work / I know how the system works / and it doesn’t.”
Summer Came Early
Following the release of her debut album, Anika formed Exploded View with Amon Melgarejo, Hugo Quezada, and Martin Thulin. The band released two albums and two EPs between 2016–2018, as well as a mixtape.
Summer Came Early opens their EP of the same name and was recorded after the band had finished their first album. The music grooves along like a beautiful dream while Anika sings of summer, and it’s only when you really listen that you realise the lyrics are perhaps hinting at something darker.
Lonely Dancer
Anika and Tricky collaborated on this track from 2020, which appeared on Tricky’s 20,20 EP.
Although I wasn’t immediately a fan, it’s become a strong favourite I keep coming back to, and I think it’s one of the best things I’ve heard from Tricky in a while. While Tricky can only briefly be heard behind Anika’s vocals, the mood of the whole thing works amazingly, and I would love to hear another collaboration between them in the future.
Finger Pies
This song marked the return of Anika in 2021 and it did not disappoint.
The instrumentation is a departure from the sound of her first album, but it’s been over ten years now so hopefully no one is expecting the same thing. What I especially love about Finger Pies is how it’s only the chorus that is really sung. The rest sounds more like a spoken word piece, and I think it’d be perfectly suited to remix.
I’ve had Finger Pies on heavy repeat since it came out, and each new single has only built my expectations for the new album.
